How to Invest in Benefits for Your Team
We sat down with Sophie Amodeo, our Director of People + Operations at Oyster Sunday, to talk about employee benefits, including why they are important, how to identify key team needs, implementation tips, and some of our favorite benefits tools.
This is a free resource for all operators. Feel free to share it with your team or other folks in your network.
Let’s Get Started.
I’m Sophie, Director of People + Operations at Oyster Sunday. One of the things we are super passionate about is helping operators support their people in creative strategies that have a lasting impact. In that process, one of the first places to start is analyzing your employee benefits and what possibilities exist to provide or deepen support that reflects a company’s values and culture.
No matter what stage you’re in as a business, your people are your bottom line. Doing a benefits analysis to ensure you approach benefits thoughtfully, with an eye on the financials, is going to set you up for long-term success. If you’re interested in learning more about how we support our clients with their HR and benefits needs or have specific questions, please contact us—we’d love to meet you. Get in touch.
In the fast-paced and competitive landscape of the hospitality industry, attracting and retaining talent is essential to the success of every business. Employee benefits play a key role in this, and it’s critical to be in tune with what your team needs to be successful and supported. Operational challenges inherent to our industry can make this process difficult to navigate, so let’s break down these hurdles to better understand the investment in employee benefits.
A common challenge we tackle with our clients at Oyster Sunday involves aligning benefits with the diverse needs of a team and the expectations of the hiring market. Uncovering these needs can feel like a time-intensive task, but with a few steps, gaining a clearer understanding of this information will have a much larger return on investment in the long run for your business. Even more, a nuanced understanding of your team will help tailor benefits that resonate and positively impact their lives.
Here is how we suggest identifying benefits with the greatest impact:
Conduct Surveys and Feedback Sessions (aka talk to your team!):
Understanding the unique needs and preferences of your employees is crucial. Regular surveys and feedback sessions can provide valuable insights into the benefits that matter most to them.
Benchmarking Against Industry Standards:
Researching benefits commonly offered in the industry and comparing them to your current offerings can help ensure competitiveness. Most recently, we’ve seen a rise in health insurance, retirement savings plans, family planning, and other perks like dining discounts or continuing education.
Addressing Work-Life Balance:
Given the demanding nature of restaurant work, benefits that support work-life balance, such as flexible scheduling, paid time off, or childcare assistance, can be particularly impactful if they fit into the day-to-day operation.
Investing in benefits comes with inherent financial considerations, and as operators, we know it can be challenging to account for this cost when margins are already tight. Demonstrating the tangible return of a robust benefits package involves tracking metrics such as improved employee retention, morale, recruitment, and increased productivity.
At Oyster Sunday, our Director of Finance + Analytics, Jalees, and I often work with operators to do a comprehensive benefits analysis. This includes designing a strategy for impactful benefits along with a budget model to ensure it’s financially feasible for the business. We understand that one size does not fit all when it comes to benefits, and by aligning the benefits strategy with broader business goals, we can create a compelling case for why these investments are not just expenses but strategic moves that positively affect the bottom line.
Here are some cost-saving considerations:
Prioritize Core Needs:
Focus on benefits that address the fundamental needs of your employees. Health insurance and retirement plans are often considered essential and can be structured to be cost-effective for both the employer and employees.
Explore Flexible Options:
Consider flexible benefit options that allow employees to tailor their benefits to their individual needs. This can include wellness programs, health savings accounts, or even non-traditional perks like educational or team-building activities.
Utilize Technology:
Leverage existing technology to streamline benefits administration, making it more cost-effective and efficient. Consider existing systems, such as your current payroll or POS systems, to explore what possibilities exist in managing benefits, tracking usage, and communicating with employees about their options.
Rolling out benefits effectively is crucial for engagement, and communication is key. Employees should clearly understand the value of the benefits offered, how to access them, and who to turn to when questions arise.
Here are our recommendations for rolling out benefits:
Hold sessions to share information in person or 1:1, which provides the opportunity for clear communication and for the team to ask questions. With that, ensure you’re considering your population of employees and any needs for translation of information, or accessibility.
Utilizing multiple channels, such as info sessions, bulletin boards, and one-on-one availability, can help ensure that every team member feels confident about what is being offered and how to access the benefit.
Seek ongoing feedback (see surveys and feedback sessions above!) and adapt benefits based on evolving needs to reinforce a culture of taking care of your team, fostering long-term engagement and retention.
At Oyster Sunday, we are incredibly passionate about employee benefits in the hospitality industry, which is why we launched OS BENEFiTS to solve the need for better benefits in the hospitality industry. OS BENEFiTS helps independent hospitality businesses support their teams with affordably priced preventative care, crisis insurance, and lifestyle services. Whether you are offering benefits for the first time or growing support for an existing benefits package, OS BENEFiTS is a low-cost option to support your team with minimal administrative needs from the operator.
Curious to hear more? Get in touch.
That’s a wrap!
On a daily basis, we help our clients find creative solutions that directly impact the people of their businesses. If you are hoping to dive deeper into your employee benefits or to learn more about OS BENEFiTS, we’d love to hear from you.
Our team at OS knows that chefs, operators, and owners have a lot to juggle on a daily basis, which is why we love to support our clients in finding creative solutions that impact their bottom line and ensure the financial stability of their businesses. If you have specific HR or Operations questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to Sophie at sophie@oystersunday.com. And if you have general questions or would like to learn more about our services, you can contact us at hello@oystersunday.com. And if you thought this was helpful, spread the knowledge and forward it to a friend in the industry.
About Sophie Amodeo
Oyster Sunday
Director of People + Operations
Sophie is a people-focused operations leader with over 10 years of experience working with restaurants and food companies. She began her career at her family's diner in Michigan, which is where her passion for restaurants and their people began. Prior to joining Oyster Sunday, she worked with award-winning businesses such as Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where she oversaw hospitality consulting projects, and Prune Restaurant on the management team. She firmly believes that a people strategy is a good business strategy and is passionate about partnering with operators to help build businesses that reflect their cultural values, vision, and growth objectives. Sophie studied Human Development and Social Relations and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
